pedic care provider
with locations
throughout Minnesota
and western
Wisconsin, recently
purchased air purification machines as a direct result of the pandem-
ic. "As soon as the pandemic began, we purchased the units because
we knew extra steps were needed to ensure the safest environment
possible," says Owen O'Neill, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at TCO.
The units also emit UV light, which kills virtually 100% of viruses
and bacteria in the air, according to Dr. O'Neill. "We started using the
machines as soon as the governor opened us up for elective cases on
May 11," he says.
Although the air in TCO's ORs is exchanged 24 times per hour, the
purification machines provide increased effectiveness in airflow and
recirculate the air to achieve an additional 12 air exchanges per hour.
Some air purification/filtration systems are portable units that can
be wheeled next to the OR table to provide sterile airflow across
patients and instruments as well as overhead fixtures, pull air into the
filtration system, treat it with UV-C light and push it back into the
room.
"Some systems have combined UV-C technology with HEPA filtra-
tion to create a reduction in both viable and non-viable particulates,"
says Charles Edmiston, Jr., PhD, CIC, FIDSA, FSHEA, FAPIC, a pro-
fessor of surgery and director of the surgical microbiology research
laboratory for the Medical College of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.
Dr. Edmiston expects a surge in the use of innovative air
filtration/purification technologies in the next five to 10 years, but
acknowledges cost could be a major obstacle.
"Work with vendors to develop a cost benefit analysis, documenting
5 6 • O U T P A T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • J U N E 2 0 2 0
The safety of your patients
is the ultimate standard.
— Owen O'Neill, MD
